Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 37
न परत्र भयादेता मर्यादां विदधुः स्त्रियः । मुक्त्वा भूपभयं चैकमथवा गुरुजं भयम्
na paratra bhayādetā maryādāṃ vidadhuḥ striyaḥ | muktvā bhūpabhayaṃ caikamathavā gurujaṃ bhayam
Ces femmes n’établissent pas de bornes à leur conduite par crainte de l’au-delà. C’est seulement—hormis l’unique crainte du châtiment du roi, ou peut-être la crainte née des aînés et des maîtres—qu’elles posent de telles limites.
Narrative voice (contextually within Sūta’s narration; explicit speaker not marked in this verse)
Listener: Śaunaka and Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame)
Scene: A court-and-āśrama contrast: on one side a king with scepter (daṇḍa) symbolizing punishment; on the other a guru/elder in an āśrama setting; between them a woman at a threshold (maryādā) indicating boundaries of conduct—illustrating external vs internal restraint.
FAQs
Speech that generalizes or disparages others becomes a cause for moral downfall; dharma is upheld by restraint and right view.
This verse sits inside the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative; the immediate verse emphasizes ethical critique rather than naming a specific tīrtha.
No explicit rite (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse.